The article provides a comparative analysis of the 2014 European Parliament elections across the six countries of Southern Europe by gauging the performance of the second-order election model. Both the aggregate hypotheses of this model and evidence of micro-level foundations are analysed. The findings reveal that the political and electoral consequences of the economic crisis have not drastically challenged the second-order character of these elections in Southern Europe. However, electoral behaviour also exhibits some indications of a more critical contest.

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European Parliament elections 2014,Southern Europe,Second-order election model,Economic crisis,Abstention,Protest vote,Critical elections

• Sociologia - Ciências Sociais
• Ciências Políticas - Ciências Sociais